Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk reveals her private heartache at not having children

OPPOSITION Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has spoken of the “heartbreaking” loss of her baby and her struggle to conceive through IVF.

Ms Palaszczuk also says she believes, absolutely, that she wants to be the state’s next premier and that she is ready to tackle the top job.

Read the complete interview in today’s Qweekend magazine.

She has also revealed she regrets not having children, saying: “I never really believe people when they say they have no regrets – mine is not being a mother.

“I wish with all my heart I had children and I think I would’ve been a good mum,” she said.

In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail published in today’s QWeekend magazine, she detailed the pain she endured when she lost a baby at 34, as well as her marriages to journalist George Megalogenis and Senator Joe Ludwig’s former chief of staff, Simon Every.

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Ms Palaszczuk said she had endometriosis, which can affect fertility. She said a GP once told her that the baby she lost may have been her one chance to have a child, adding that the thought was heartbreaking.

Ms Palaszczuk said her experience had informed her belief that those undergoing IVF treatment should get compulsory counselling.

“We lost a baby at 11 weeks when I was 34, and we got married expecting we would have no trouble having another child, because I’d fallen pregnant that one time,” she said.

“But it just didn’t happen and we did about four years of IVF, trying very hard to have a baby.

“I really believe there should be compulsory counselling throughout the IVF process, because when you go through it, there is this expectation that you will end up with a baby somehow on the other side, and not everyone does. It’s a real roller-coaster of emotions, and one of the hardest parts is knowing when to get off the roller-coaster, when to stop believing it’s just going to happen.”

Ms Palaszczuk said she believed she now had the experience to run the state from the very top.